Gypsy jazz troupe the Hot Club of LA, disciples of the great Django Reinhardt, have had a Monday night residency at the Cinema Bar for 12 years now, and they’re not slowing down. Band member Carl Byron caught the News up with their goings on…
When did you start playing and performing?
Hot Club of Los Angeles began in 2011 as a gathering of local established sidemen and recording musicians with backgrounds in country, jazz, folk, blues, pop/rock and world music to perform the repertoire of Belgian guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt (1910-1953). What started as Django jamming soon became a more formal affair when, in December of that year, the Cinema Bar offered us a Monday night residency that’s still going strong, and our performances became increasingly popular.
Describe your sound/style?
Hailed by Jackson Browne as “an LA treasure”, Hot Club of Los Angeles showcases material by Django Reinhardt and other so-called “gypsy jazz” masters; French, Roma and Russian vocal numbers, straight ahead jazz repertoire, film score selections and our own Django-inspired originals. The band’s current lineup, which includes founding members, drummer Jim Doyle and accordionist/pianist Carl Byron; along with bassist Paul Eckman and fretmasters Josh Workman and Jake Bluenote, draws on the varied experience and eclectic taste of the players, yielding a unique and modern approach to the storied “Hot Club” sound with rousing, joyous and infectious acoustic instrument-driven energy.
What are your career highlights so far?
Our great pal Jackson Browne sitting in with us at The Cinema Bar is a major highlight for the group, as well as being the house band for Artists for Peace and Justice benefits that Browne curated. On those events, we backed up Jeff Bridges, Gaby Moreno, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Rufus Wainwright, T-Bone Burnett, Petra Haden and many other sterling performers. Another great highlight was serving as the house band for Louise Goffin’s recent program, A Night Of Songs And Stories at the Village Studios. Other highlights include accompanying Devo’s Gerald Casale; headlining Jazzville in Palm Springs, and taking the stages at DjangoFest in Las Vegas and the Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach, among other notable concert appearances.
What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?
Both of our critically lauded albums, Nuevo (2024) and Cinema Swing (2020) are available from all streaming and download services. CDs can be purchased directly from us at our shows and via our website: www.hotclubofla.com
Have you performed at Cinema Bar before? Any memories?
Yes, we’ve been performing our Monday night residency at the Cinema Bar since December 2011. We have fond memories of the great musicians who’ve shared that stage with us and the multitude of generous patrons who’ve helped sustain our highly acclaimed run there.
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
In addition to performing our core repertoire, we’ll also feature selections from our new album, Nova. Many of those numbers are originals, composed by band members, which reflect the wide stylistic range that Django Reinhardt embraced in his own work. We’ll also feature our trademark takes on Django masterpieces, such as “Nuages” (sung in French), “Belleville” and “Swing 42”; as well as our arrangements of other Django jazz material and a rousing folk song, “?aje Šukarije” sung in Serbian Roma. In addition, our guitarists will shred on contemporary acoustic fret burners such as Biréli Lagrène’s “Made In France”, Tchavolo Schmitt’s “Tchavolo Swing” and Dorado Schmitt’s “Bossa Dorado”. Besides those numbers, we’ll serenade you with some Charles Trénet songs (sung in French) and swing you with a segue of “Django” (the Reinhardt tribute composed by John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet) and the Duke Ellington showpiece “Caravan”. Another pairing that you might hear is “Miserlou” followed by “Goldfinger”, or the theme from “A Man and a Woman” and other soundtrack selections such as Nino Rota’s “Carlota’s Galop” and John Williams’ “Cantina Band”.
What else do you have coming up?
In addition to continuing our Monday night residency at the Cinema Bar (9pm-11:30pm, no cover, free parking, 21+), we’re looking forward to our September 22 appearance at College in Long Beach.
The Hot Club of LA performs at 9 p.m. every Monday at the Cinema Bar. Go to thecinemabar.com for more information about the show.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
Boulevard Music hosts Jim Curry Presents the Music of John Denver at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 22. Visit boulevardmusic.com for more info.
